Help Me
by Bellantara
Summary: Lance is at death's door, and it's up to a sheltered princess to save his life. Can Allura meet the challenge?


The darkness was calm, peaceful; Lance thought he could stay there forever, and wanted to, very much. He was so tired, though he couldn't quite remember why, and content to float where he was.

But the voice, panicky, young, and female, wouldn't let him be; relentlessly it dragged him towards the light. He didn't know what was there, but something told him he did NOT want to wake up. "Lance, oh Lance, please, please, you have to wake up, please Goddess, don't take him, there's so much blood, I don't know what to do, LANCE PLEASE!"

He blinked awake with a groan, immediately wishing he hadn't. His left knee felt full of broken glass, and he thought his right side was in Red's volcano. Carefully he touched his side, cringing when his hand came away wet. _Shot, probably hit an artery,_ he thought absently as his training kicked in. _Fuck._ _Probably going into shock too,_ his thoughts continued as he shivered and fought a wave of nausea. Weakly he reached up, grabbing Allura's hand. "Allie. . ."

"Oh Goddess. . . Lance, you're awake, thank heavens, I didn't know what to do; they shot you and tossed us in here to wait for Lotor . . ."

The words and whining tone grated on him horribly. "Allura, shut up, damnit; I can't think!" Her hurt look startled him before he realized how harsh his words had been. "I'm sorry. . . Princess. Don't feel too good. Listen; you've gotta . . . calm down; need your help . . . don't have a lot of time." He squeezed her hand as best he could. "Can you do what I tell you?" She shook her head frantically, and he struggled to stay calm and coherent. "You . . . have to. PLEASE, Allie. I . . . can't. It's . . . bad. I won't . . . make it if . . . you don't." And he knew he wouldn't; already his vision was fading in and out, taking his awareness with it.

After what felt like an eternity as Lance fought to stay conscious, Allura straightened and nodded, expression pale and grim. "Tell me what to do."

"First thing . . . stop the . . . bleeding . . . right side." He blacked out for a moment, then continued, "Then . . . you have . . . to get my . . . legs up. Helps . . . blood flow. Hurry, Allie." He watched dazedly as she ripped her petticoat off and gingerly pressed it to his side. "Harder," he told her. "You have . . . to really push. I know . . . it's gonna hurt. Do it."

The princess bit her lip and put all her weight against his side; Lance nearly bit his own lip through trying to keep from screaming as his world went white with agony. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she whispered, easing on the pressure as the blood slowed.

" 'Sall righ', angel," Lance told her, not noticing the slur in his speech. "Did wha' I. . . tol' ya. Did good. Now . . . put feet up . . . try keep me . . . warm."

Allura did as directed, propping his feet on a loose stone, then lying beside him and pulling his jacket over them both. "What are we going to do? How are we going to get out of here, when the team doesn't even know we're in trouble?"

"Sshhh . . . they know. S'posed to r'port to Keit. Late. He . . . knows." Lance felt the darkness taking him again, and would've welcomed the respite from pain if it weren't for the trembling princess beside him. "Lissen . . . . gonna go sleep now. So tired. . . ." He could see how afraid she was, see the tears on her cheeks, and wanted badly to stay with her, console her. He just didn't have the strength. Carefully he took her hand and laid it on his chest, just over his heart. "Still . . . here. Won't . . . leave you . . . til safe. Promise. Just gonna . . . nap." Lance wrapped his arm around her, tucking her close, then let himself fall into the blessed haven of darkness.

Allura watched Lance lose consciousness, only the still strong beat beneath her hand keeping her from panicking again. She didn't have the medical training the team did, but Lance was far too pale for her liking, and she REALLY didn't like the amount of blood pooled beneath them and soaking into her skirts. Shifting a bit, she brought her knee up, pressing it into Lance's side and holding her petticoat tight against the still bleeding wound. The lanky pilot stirred, murmuring in clear pain, but didn't waken. The princess bit her lip, hoping and praying to the Lady that the team would hurry. She wasn't sure how long Lance could hold on, regardless of his promises.

She never knew how long she lay beside Lance, convincing herself that he wasn't getting colder, that his heart wasn't slowing. But after what felt like an eternity, there was a sound at the door. The princess froze in horror and panic for a moment, then a grim determination settled over her features. Lance was absolutely helpless; she _had_ to protect both of them. Quickly she slipped away from his side, picking up a rock from the cell floor and taking a position beside the door. As it opened and a head peered in, she brought the rock down with all the strength she could muster.

Her first inkling that she'd made a mistake was the solid _thunk_ as the rock connected, not with a bare head, but a helmet. The mistake was confirmed by a torrent of harsh, foreign words that could only come from one source. " _Sven_?"

"Vell, I am not de Goddess of Space," came the irritated reply. Sven stepped into the room, pulling off his helmet and rubbing his head. Allura opened her mouth to apologize, but at that moment Sven saw Lance and dropped to his knees at his teammate's side, talking low and fast in Norwegian as he looked the other man over. "Vhat happened, _prinsesse?_ " he asked, pulling his com from his belt to bark a report to Keith.

"King Rykor turned his coat; he's in league with Zarkon now," Allura stepped to the side as Keith rushed in with Black's medical kit and began working on Lance. "We tried to get back to the ship; I-I tripped, and Lance twisted his knee turning to catch me. Then the guards started shooting, and he pushed me out of the way. Goddess, please tell me he will live!"

"Hard to say . . . _gud i himmeln_ , he has lost a lot of blood." Sven turned to look at her. "But you did very vell, _prinsesse._ Und he's strong. Ve chust haf to get him to Gorma."

"I-I only did what he told me," Allura whispered, feeling horrible. "I was panicking, because he was bleeding so much, and wasn't awake . . . he came to, told me what I needed to do for him. I would've been useless if he hadn't. . . ."

"But he did. And you gave him a chance, Princess." Keith grunted as he and Sven lifted Lance. "You've probably saved his life, but we've gotta get him to Gorma fast. Let's move!" The two pilots moved out as quickly as they dared, an anxious Allura following in their wake.

Ten hours later, Allura slipped from her bedroom, making her way to MedTech. Keith had visited her earlier, and told her that, despite some scary moments, Lance had made it through surgery and was expected to recover completely. Still, she needed to see for herself. Despite the team's reassurances,

Allura was all too aware of how close Lance had been to dying, and how much it was her fault. She had to apologize, and make a request.

Lance's room was in a quiet corner of MedTech, reserved for the Voltron Force in the name of privacy. The lanky pilot was asleep, still pale but looking far better than the last time she'd seen him. A sheet was drawn over him for modesty, but she could see the bandages around his torso, and the brace on his left knee. Silently she slipped into the chair by his bed. "Lance, I'm so sorry," she murmured, carefully laying her hand over his. "You said something didn't feel right, I should have listened, you nearly died because of me, and when you needed me I panicked. I failed you."

"Dinnt fail." Allura jerked her head up at the softly slurred words to find a groggy Lance watching her. "Saved my life. Got head . . .together. . . did ev'rything right." He turned his hand over to hold hers. "Proud of you. . . Allie."

She shook her head. "I couldn't have done anything without you. If you hadn't woken up—"

"But I did." Lance managed to squeeze her hand. "An' I'm gonna . . . be fine. B'cause . . . of you."

"Still . . ." Allura took a deep breath. "I don't want to be in that position again. Please . . . will you and the boys teach me? I want to be an asset to the team, not a liability."

Lance was clearly fading again, but his green eyes lit up at her words. "Course. Talk to . . . Keit n Sven. . . when I'm better. Teach you m'self." Before Allura could say anything, he was asleep again, still clasping her hand in his.

"It's a good idea; we should've done it a long time ago." Allura startled at the quiet voice, and turned to see Keith leaning against the doorframe, arms folded. "It won't be easy, Princess; be sure you really want to do this, before we start giving up free time to train you. We want you, we need you . . . but we won't force you, and don't want you quitting halfway through because it's too hard."

Allura set her jaw. "I'm sure, Keith. And I won't give up, I promise. Just . . . . help me talk Nanny and Coran into it?" She looked up at the Commander with pleading blue eyes, and he couldn't help a laugh.

"You've got it. C'mon, let's let Lance rest; you need to get to bed yourself, before Hurricane Nanny strikes." The Princess nodded, then freed her hand and kissed Lance's cheek before standing and allowing Keith to escort her out. Tomorrow would bring big changes.


End file.
